Album Review | The Underachievers – After the Rain

This album was released on November 9th. I’ve never reviewed a project from the Underachievers, but I’ve listened to all of their albums and mixtapes. They don’t really have any projects that I’d call “great,” but I honestly don’t think I’ve ever heard a bad song by them. They just have a lot of tracks that are decent to me. Indigoism is still my favorite project that they’ve released. I’m honestly expecting more of the same from this album. I think I’ll enjoy it to some extent, but it definitely won’t be super memorable. Maybe I’m wrong though. Maybe this project will truly blow me away. I don’t see anybody else talking about it, so I doubt that’s the case, but you never know. Every song is produced by BrassTracks.

1. Downpour

I just listened to this entire song. It’s pretty good. I don’t really have any issues with it. Issa Gold did a great job with the first verse. It was interesting to hear him admit that his promotion of drug use in his music is problematic. I’ve always thought that AKTHESAVIOR was the better rapper in the group, but Issa Gold’s verse was a bit more interesting on this song to me. I think the production from BrassTracks is really dope. I like the way AK & Issa were trading bars on the hook. This is a pretty good opening track. It’s dope.

2. Light Speed featuring Ivan Jackson

Huh. This is a pretty different sound compared to the other work The Underachievers have done. It doesn’t have that psychedelic sound that they’re known for. The production on this track is really chill, and they’ve got Ivan Jackson on the hook singing about Luther Vandross & Stevie Wonder. I’m not sure how I feel about it honestly. I’m definitely glad that they’re finally making different sounding music because it was kind of starting to seem like they were making the same songs over and over again. The two verses from AK & Issa Gold on this track are pretty good. I feel like this is a solid song, but it’s not really my cup of tea honestly. It’s a little too sweet for me. It’s definitely not a bad track though. It’s alright.

3. Nightmares & Dreams featuring Liza Owen

Ehhh… I’m not really in love with this hook from Liza Owen. She doesn’t have a bad voice. I’m just not really crazy about the melody itself. The first verse from Issa Gold was cool. AKTHESAVIOR did his thing on the second verse. I guess this is an alright track. I feel the same way about this track as I did the previous one. The jazzy production kinda reminds me of something Chance the Rapper would spit over, especially when those horns come in during the hook. This definitely isn’t a bad song. I don’t really have any problems with it honestly. It just doesn’t really stand out that much to me. It’s decent.

4. Cyclones

The light, melodic production on this track is pretty nice. The first verse from Issa Gold is alright. It’s not that memorable to me honestly. AKTHESAVIOR’s flow was more impressive than that of Issa Gold, but he still wasn’t really saying anything that interesting. This is a pretty straightforward song structurally. There’s just two verses, and then the song ends. There’s no hook. I liked the production, and they had some decent flows, but nothing about this song really stands out enough to make it worth coming back to. It’s kind of an underwhelming track. I don’t think it’s bad at all, but I won’t be listening to this again in the future.

5. Location Nowhere featuring Father Dude

The hook from Father Dude on this track is alright I guess. Man… I’m gonna be honest… This is probably my least favorite song on the album so far. I really don’t know how I feel about this softer sound they’ve got going on with this project. The first verse from Issa Gold isn’t bad. It just doesn’t stand out much to me. He’s talking about being fucked up emotionally, and then he has these lines where he’s just like “I got off the ground and try to find a new way.” What the fuck does that even mean though?

And then the truth dawned on me, that the mind is the strongestYou really wanna change is when you kill all of your problemsSittin’ waiting while the pain is eating at your nogginWhen you stand over yourself you can get over the mountain

It’s like he’s saying the way to recover from depression is to just “get over it” and “be free mentally.” The more I listen to this hook from Father Dude the less I like it. AKTHESAVIOR’s verse didn’t really do much for me. This is the worst song on the album so far. I still don’t know if I’d call this wack, but it’s definitely not good.

6. Evil Things featuring Mello

The production on this track is alright. At one point in the first verse Issa Gold says “magnus opus.” What the fuck is a magnus opus? I know what a magnum opus is, but I’ve never heard of a magnus opus. His verse was alright I guess. Mello did a really great job with that hook. She sounds great on this song. AKTHESAVIOR’s verse wasn’t anything special. Mello’s hook is the only aspect of this song that I can say I like. I guess the production’s decent too. I won’t be listening to this song again though. Neither of the two rappers really said anything that interesting on this track. This is better than the previous song, but it’s still not that good to me. It’s alright I guess.

7. Channeling

This song has one of the better beats on the album so far. The first verse from Issa Gold isn’t bad. He rapped about his drug abuse. One thing I’ve noticed is that Issa Gold raps first on every single track of this album. I wonder if that was on purpose. I don’t really think it’s a problem, but I found it kind of interesting.

Can’t depend on a drug when its controlling how you feelin’Can’t depend on getting high just to give your life meaningEverything in moderation, but a nigga couldn’t see itBeen abusing different things and convinced myself I need it’til it went from a pleasure to a nigga just fiendin’

Issa Gold’s verse is kinda cool. The way the production evolves during the hook sounds pretty good. AK’s flow was way more interesting than that of Issa Gold. He sounded really good on the second verse. This is definitely one of the better songs on the album. The subject matter was actually interesting to me, and the production was really good. This is dope.

8. Seven Letters featuring KingJet

Ehhhh… I’m really not feelin’ this hook from KingJet. I wouldn’t call it wack, but it sounds a bit too poppy for me. The production’s decent. I just finished listening to this entire song. It’s an okay track I guess. I’m never gonna listen to it ever again though. Neither of the two verses from Issa Gold & AKTHESAVIOR really impressed me. They had some cool flows, but other than that it wasn’t anything special. This song didn’t really do anything for me. It’s an okay track though I guess. It’s just not that good to me.

9. Let It Rain

I just listened to this entire song. I don’t really have much to say about it. It doesn’t stand out to me at all. I won’t be listening to it again in the future. The production’s nothing special. They’re basically rapping about how you should let yourself feel sad every now and then instead of bottling your emotions up, hence the title. This is an okay song. I won’t ever listen to it again, but it’s not bad.

10. War Inside

The production on this track is actually really dope. It’s a lot more hard-hitting than any of the other beats on this track. The percussion sounds really good. The first verse from Issa Gold was okay I guess. The hook’s alright. I’m not in love with it, but it works. The second verse from AKTHESAVIOR was cool. This isn’t that great of a song honestly. I like the production a lot, but nothing else about this song really stands out in a positive way. I definitely think this is one of the better songs on the album, but it’s still not good enough to make me come back to it in the future. It’s decent though.

11. See Through

The production on this track is decent. I just finished listening to this song. It’s a pretty straightforward track. It’s just two verses one after another. Neither of the two verses really did anything for me though. This is another super average song that I’m never gonna listen to again. I saw one guy say that this was easily the best song on the album. I definitely disagree with that. This doesn’t sound any different from the rest of the album. It’s just two average verses over a run of the mill beat. It’s an okay song, but it has zero replay value for me personally.

This is an okay project I guess. It’s definitely one of The Underachievers’ weakest albums in my opinion. I don’t really care for the softer, more melodic vibe that they went for with this project. Indigoism is still their best project in my opinion. That album had a lot of varied production. I appreciate the lyrical themes of addiction and overcoming depression on this album. I just don’t think they said anything that groundbreaking. This album reminds me of Devastated by Joey Bada$$. It sounds a bit too poppy for me. I don’t think any of the songs are actually bad, but most of them just aren’t that good to me. This is an okay album, but it’s probably my least favorite Underachievers project to date.

favorite song: Channelingleast favorite song: Location Nowhere

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Published by OG Nick Marsh

I am not a music expert. My reviews are completely subjective and should not sway anyone’s opinion on any musical project. I don’t grade albums based on how “good” they are objectively. The score they receive depends on how much I enjoy them personally.
View all posts by OG Nick Marsh